BLACKSBURG - Few of Virginia Tech's defenders have played better than Chris Cyrus, but even he might be surprised to be leading the team in tackles.

Yet, after two games, the Brookville graduate finds himself atop the Tech list with 15 tackles heading into Thursday's meeting with Clemson.

"It's a fight to get to that football," said Tech coach Frank Beamer. "And he's been the first one there a number of times. So that's good to see."

Cyrus, normally a backup at defensive end, will get a chance to add to his defensive stats when he makes his second consecutive start on Thursday. John Engelberger, who usually plays in front of Cyrus at end, will start at tackle for the second straight game in place of injured Nathaniel Williams (knee).

Cyrus is often described as a "fifth starter" on Tech's front four, anyway. Though their depth will take a hit with the absence of Williams, the Hokies lose little when Cyrus starts and Engelberger moves to tackle.

"With (Engelberger) moving inside it makes us a lot more versatile," said defensive end Corey Moore. "We probably become a little bit more athletic inside, and Cyrus is a great player for us. He's very capable of starting and making plays for us. And he's done that for us these first two games."

Cyrus, a fifth-year senior, had seven tackles in Tech's opening win over James Madison and eight a week later versus Alabama-Birmingham. He also recovered a fumble against UAB and overall is second on the team with two sacks.

"Chris has really been playing great," Beamer said. "And (Engelberger) gives us something a little bit different inside, a taller guy that really, really moves. I don't think we lose much; we lose depth. But Chris has been playing great."

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, whose team features a no-huddle, quick-pass offense, said Monday that the Tigers won't hesitate to throw deep if Tech's defense insists on crowding the line.

"That sounds good to me," said Tech cornerback Ike Charlton. "I want them to do that. Our front seven, those guys are going to get pressure on them in a case like that and we're going to make (quarterback) Brandon Streeter beat us. When the line's getting pressure on the quarterback like that, sometimes he's going to throw an ill-advised pass and that's when us, as a secondary, has to take advantage of it.

"I'll be manned up on No. 23 (Rod Gardner, Clemson's leading receiver) the whole game. Where he goes, I'm going. So if they want to throw deep, throw deep."

One of the lingering memories of Tech's 37-0 win at Clemson last year was the way many in the crowd of 72,000 began filing out at halftime. The Hokies were ahead 34-0 at the time.

"They were so surprised, so shocked," said linebacker Jamel Smith, a native South Carolinian. "Wasn't that like their first shutout since 1977 or something like that? That was the year I was born. I guess they've never seen a defense and an offense put up numbers like that before on them in Death Valley. They're not used to that."

ESPN commentator Lee Corso, who in preseason predicted the Hokies would go unbeaten and play for the national title, will be part of the broadcast team Thursday. ... Tech announced Tuesday that about 500 tickets remained for the Clemson game. The Hokies sold out their first two games this season. ... Tech assistant coaches Rickey Bustle and Danny Pearman are Clemson graduates. Bustle was a receiver for the Tigers in the mid-1970s and Pearman was a tight end in the mid-1980s.

It's early, but Tech is leading the country in total defense, allowing an average of 136 yards per game. The Hokies also are fifth in scoring defense (5.0), third in kickoff returns (37.0) and fifth in punt returns (17.6). ... Individually, tailback Shyrone Stith has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of Tech's last three regular-season games and currently leads the Big East in all-purpose yards (160.5). ... Andre Kendrick (E.C. Glass), who rushed for a total of 125 yards the past two seasons, has 94 yards in Tech's first two games this season.